Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

henryn

carnaught said:

Buick Encore.

Say what? I thought "42" was the answer to "Life, the Universe, and Everything"

corvette

Congrats! What year? Buy or lease?

carnaught

carnaught said:

Buick Encore.

... a new '15 lease.

stickguy

Nice. I like those.

stever

They were screaming those $199 Encore deals here. And they looked liked screaming deals. Congrats!

suydam

"Buick Encore". Replacement for ?? Trim level? Give some details!

nyccarguy

@carnaught - mazel-tov & congrats on the punch! Encore is a cool little car for sure. 2 punches for you this year! way to go!

graphicguy

Carnaught...big congratz!!!!!!

nyccarguy

@graphicguy - I know you're not into leasing, but residuals are high & money is really cheap right now. I just saw on the GS Lease Questions Board a 60% residual after 36 months/12K per year with $2700 lease cash & a money factor that equates to 1.8%. You've obviously got to like the car, not just the deal.

graphicguy

nyccarguy said:

@graphicguy - I know you're not into leasing, but residuals are high & money is really cheap right now. I just saw on the GS Lease Questions Board a 60% residual after 36 months/12K per year with $2700 lease cash & a money factor that equates to 1.8%. You've obviously got to like the car, not just the deal.

Brad....yeah, not much into leasing. But, this go round, I may do just that for a variety of different reasons.

Looking at a few different options. I've not driven the GS, but have driven the IS, which is a darned nice car.

Also on the list would be a Mercedes C300, BMW 3xxi, Acura TLX, Infiniti Q.

So, a bit different than buying outright. If I were purchasing, I'd just throw a "buy now" offer to the dealer. There's a level of complexity added to the purchase price I have to look at. On a lease, monthly payments now become relevant. Money factors, residual values, fees...all become part of the deal.

Thanks for the input on the GS. I may mosey on over to some of those leasing forums.

Michaell

graphicguy said:

nyccarguy said:

@graphicguy - I know you're not into leasing, but residuals are high & money is really cheap right now. I just saw on the GS Lease Questions Board a 60% residual after 36 months/12K per year with $2700 lease cash & a money factor that equates to 1.8%. You've obviously got to like the car, not just the deal.

Brad....yeah, not much into leasing. But, this go round, I may do just that for a variety of different reasons.

Looking at a few different options. I've not driven the GS, but have driven the IS, which is a darned nice car.

Also on the list would be a Mercedes C300, BMW 3xxi, Acura TLX, Infiniti Q.

So, a bit different than buying outright. If I were purchasing, I'd just throw a "buy now" offer to the dealer. There's a level of complexity added to the purchase price I have to look at. On a lease, monthly payments now become relevant. Money factors, residual values, fees...all become part of the deal.

Thanks for the input on the GS. I may mosey on over to some of those leasing forums.

If you know the numbers, you can still put together a 'take it or leave it' offer with your selling price. Not much more complex than a purchase.

carnaught

Thanks all for the congrats, actually 3rd punch for the year...details to follow....

stickguy

Lease is even easier. Boil it down to a sign and drive monthly payment. Up to dealer how they make it happen!

au1994

stickguy said:

Lease is even easier. Boil it down to a sign and drive monthly payment. Up to dealer how they make it happen!

+1 for this approach, I have used this before. Gathered the data from the leasing boards here and hit the dealer with something on the low end. Basically the old "I'll pay you 30k for the car, don't car if thats 29.9 for the floor mats and 100 for the car, but 30k is my number." approach.

fintail

Congrats on the Buick.

Re: leasing, I saw an ad for a crazy deal on Lexus GS, something like $439/month - and no doubt the initial payment can be negotiated quite a bit. I suspect they just aren't selling like the Germans, and inventory needs to be moved.

au1994

fintail said:

Congrats on the Buick.

Re: leasing, I saw an ad for a crazy deal on Lexus GS, something like $439/month - and no doubt the initial payment can be negotiated quite a bit. I suspect they just aren't selling like the Germans, and inventory needs to be moved.

Thats my understanding as well. I think its a pretty decent looking ride, interior is very nice and I like a lot of their color offerings. Haven't driven one, just window shopped at the dealer when closed and real world sightings but from what I read the ride is tuned so much to luxury that there is not a lot of driving pleasure to be had.

Michaell

Yes, the mid-sized luxury rides are all leasing pretty well - Q50, GS, E-class, 5-series

graphicguy

Michaell said:

Yes, the mid-sized luxury rides are all leasing pretty well - Q50, GS, E-class, 5-series

Michael...you keep closer in touch with this. How do the, C300, 3 series, IS or TLX leases look, in general?

Michaell

graphicguy said:

Michaell said:

Yes, the mid-sized luxury rides are all leasing pretty well - Q50, GS, E-class, 5-series

Michael...you keep closer in touch with this. How do the, C300, 3 series, IS or TLX leases look, in general?

I'll quote examples of each ... 36 months, 15,000 miles per year:

2016 328xi or 340xi - .00130 and 59%
2016 C300 4Matic - .00152 and 60%
2015 IS350 AWD - .00075 and 61%, $500 lease cash
2015 TLX V6 AWD - .00026 and 52% (Tech) or 50% (Advance)

stickguy

60% at 45k? Ambitious.

graphicguy

Michaell said:

graphicguy said:

Michaell said:

Yes, the mid-sized luxury rides are all leasing pretty well - Q50, GS, E-class, 5-series

Michael...you keep closer in touch with this. How do the, C300, 3 series, IS or TLX leases look, in general?

I'll quote examples of each ... 36 months, 15,000 miles per year:

2016 328xi or 340xi - .00130 and 59%
2016 C300 4Matic - .00152 and 60%
2015 IS350 AWD - .00075 and 61%, $500 lease cash
2015 TLX V6 AWD - .00026 and 52% (Tech) or 50% (Advance)

Great info. Thanks, Michaell!

fezo

I have a friend who live in Santa Cruz. I feel almost an obligation to hate him out of jealousy.

jpp75

I've always liked the GS but haven't driven one, probably would be a little too soft for my tastes.

I just had the opportunity to drive a friend's TLX for a week while visiting out in Oregon. He has the V6 w/ Advance package, FWD which includes the 4 wheel steering.

Overall a great car, smooth power delivery although the 9 speed transmission is a bit rough when shifting from first to second and second to third.

To me it drove more like the Q50 than the S60 (strictly drive feel, obviously the differences in power/feel from the V6 to the 4 cylinder S60 are a bit more noticeable). It leaned more towards soft than sporty, but wasn't a wallowy ride either.

Gas mileage was impressive, mostly highway driving showed ~33 MPG on the trip computer. The VCM isn't noticeable at all, (where it cuts down to 3 cylinders on the highway when less power is needed).

Overall a great ride, worth checking out and I would buy it over the Q50 simply based on price. While the Q50 Hybrid is nice it's not worth an extra $10K or so over the TLX.

fintail

Subsidized.

I am surprised the IS350 MF is so low, rare cars.

stickguy said:

60% at 45k? Ambitious.

fintail

I've never driven one, but I've sat in a few. Very nice cars, and I love the striated metal interior trim option. Doesn't seem to have the option potential of the Germans, nor the vault-like feel - the big 3 players in that segment have mastered how to weight doors, switchgear, and manage metal thickness to make a car feel very heavy, in a good way. I didn't get the same feeling from the GS.

That said, with a minimal initial payment and about $450/month, it's a heck of a deal.

au1994 said:

Thats my understanding as well. I think its a pretty decent looking ride, interior is very nice and I like a lot of their color offerings. Haven't driven one, just window shopped at the dealer when closed and real world sightings but from what I read the ride is tuned so much to luxury that there is not a lot of driving pleasure to be had.

carnaught

The Buick Encore was fresh off the truck, Ruby Red/Titanium with the Convenience pkg. plus nav. Along with their smokin' 24 mos. lease deal, including no money down except first month's payment, is XM satellite radio, maintainence, and OnStar for the 24 mo. period, and no disposal fee at lease end. This is an additional car; we wanted a small workhorse. Positive comments fron Suydam, and others, plus my really liking the looks and features of the car also made me interested, so I couldn't resist.

rayainsw

Congrats on the Encore - sounds like an excellent deal!
Enjoy!

Michaell

Sorry, I missed part of this (too many discussions to keep track of, somedays). Was the Encore FWD or AWD?

carnaught

Michaell said:

Sorry, I missed part of this (too many discussions to keep track of, somedays). Was the Encore FWD or AWD?

Fwd.

Michaell

Tomorrow, I am taking the wheel of a Lamborghini here ...

http://www.thextremexperience.com/blog/driving-tips-ppir/

rayainsw

Excellent!
Have BIG FUN!
[ Take pictures ? ]
- Ray
Just a bit tiny jealous ....

Michaell

rayainsw said:

Excellent!
Have BIG FUN!
[ Take pictures ? ]
- Ray
Just a bit tiny jealous ....

Pictures? I'm gonna have in-car video. I've done this twice before - once in a Ferrari F430 Cabrio, last year in an Audi R8. Got video of both.

slorenzen

Michaell said:

rayainsw said:

Excellent!
Have BIG FUN!
[ Take pictures ? ]
- Ray
Just a bit tiny jealous ....

Pictures? I'm gonna have in-car video. I've done this twice before - once in a Ferrari F430 Cabrio, last year in an Audi R8. Got video of both.

Gonna post 'em?

Michaell

slorenzen said:

Michaell said:

rayainsw said:

Excellent!
Have BIG FUN!
[ Take pictures ? ]
- Ray
Just a bit tiny jealous ....

Pictures? I'm gonna have in-car video. I've done this twice before - once in a Ferrari F430 Cabrio, last year in an Audi R8. Got video of both.

Gonna post 'em?

Not sure I can post a video file to this site ... they are on my Facebook page, FWIW

xwesx

berri said:

Homes are money pits. Sellers always seem to forget how much they spent on them; taxes, interest (both paid out and lost investment opportunity), insurance, maintenance, repairs and updates, realtor fees, etc. when they tell you how much they made on it. But there is a satisfaction in controlling your living space and environment.

Indeed. I haven't even finished mine yet (not even close, really), and I know this all too well!

Last night's activity: Cleaning the boiler. I'm pretty sure that poor thing actually sighed when I turned it on afterward!

slorenzen

xwesx said:

berri said:

Homes are money pits. Sellers always seem to forget how much they spent on them; taxes, interest (both paid out and lost investment opportunity), insurance, maintenance, repairs and updates, realtor fees, etc. when they tell you how much they made on it. But there is a satisfaction in controlling your living space and environment.

Indeed. I haven't even finished mine yet (not even close, really), and I know this all too well!

Last night's activity: Cleaning the boiler. I'm pretty sure that poor thing actually sighed when I turned it on afterward!

wood-fired, or oil?

xwesx

slorenzen said:

wood-fired, or oil?

Oil (#1 diesel). We use about 600 gallons a year.

This is a condensing boiler mated to a hydronic in-floor system that I installed about... oh, I think this will be our fourth winter using it. We went something like nine winters using a Monitor area heater, which was woefully inadequate to heat the space (total sq ft is around 2,400) once we had walls in there. So, between the frigid concrete floors and the air temperature variances (as much as twenty degrees), the first day after activating the in-floor hydronic system was simply heavenly!

I would definitely consider wood were it not for the fact that wood smoke strongly irritates my lungs. Since I don't appreciate other folks smoking me out, I'm certainly not going to do it to them.

xwesx

Michaell said:

Tomorrow, I am taking the wheel of a Lamborghini here ...

http://www.thextremexperience.com/blog/driving-tips-ppir/

That looks like it would be a fun experience! How much time do you get behind the wheel?

xwesx

carnaught said:

The Buick Encore was fresh off the truck, Ruby Red/Titanium with the Convenience pkg. plus nav. Along with their smokin' 24 mos. lease deal, including no money down except first month's payment, is XM satellite radio, maintainence, and OnStar for the 24 mo. period, and no disposal fee at lease end. This is an additional car; we wanted a small workhorse. Positive comments fron Suydam, and others, plus my really liking the looks and features of the car also made me interested, so I couldn't resist.

Congrats on the add, Carnaught!

Mr_Shiftright

Just in case anyone is curious as to "who owns what":

Michaell

But, let's give it a shot ....

xwesx said:

Michaell said:

Tomorrow, I am taking the wheel of a Lamborghini here ...

http://www.thextremexperience.com/blog/driving-tips-ppir/

That looks like it would be a fun experience! How much time do you get behind the wheel?

Three laps.

stever

Hm, interesting graphic Shifty. Per Wiki, Toyota owns 16.5% of FHI, which in turns owns Subaru. Probably more of those partial partnerships around.

imidazol97

Mr_Shiftright said:

Just in case anyone is curious as to "who owns what":

Interesting chart. Thanks for posting!

breld

@Michaell - have a great time! We're all envious, and anxious to hear about it.

stickguy

Arrived in Bermuda today. All kinds of odd tiny cars and vans. All Asian now. Last time I was here, lots of English stuff.

Oddest thing, which for some reason I really want, a Hummer FX.

cdnpinhead

stickguy said:

All Asian now. Last time I was here, lots of English stuff.

When was that? How quickly are these things changing?

kyfdx

Opinions needed!

http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/36878/general/x/choosing-low-cost-basic-transportation?new=1

stickguy

30 years ago! Actually, not sure of the mix then. Back in the mid 70s it was all British.

nyccarguy

I'm a far cry from a Volvo Fan, but has anybody seen a V60 R Design Wagon? It is gorgeous! I love the thick bolsters on the seats!

Michaell

Hello all! Been busy with home renovation stuff, but wanted to get back to everyone about my supercar experience yesterday.

This is the third year I've attended - year 1 I drove a Ferrari F430 and last year I drove an Audi R8. This year I chose a Lamborghini Gallardo. There were several Lambos at the event yesterday, including an Aventador.

If I ever win the lottery, I won't be buying a Lamborghini as my dream car. Why? I don't fit - at least, not with a race helmet on my noggin. I'm not particularly tall - 5'11", but I had to cant my head about 10 degrees to the right to fit in the car. As you can imagine, trying to drive at speed while looking through the windshield with one's head tilted doesn't make for good driving. Missed apexes galore.

So, not as good a time as in the past. And, my head and neck hurt for most of the day afterwards.

I'll certainly do it again, but I'll have to look at headroom specs before choosing my next car.